


Love of a Life I can Never Have

by diamondfireforever



Series: Voltron Mermaid AUs [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Can I Getta Hell Yeah, Fire Mermaids, Fluff, Keith!Mermaid AU, Lance Being An Idiot, M/M, Mermaid Stuff, Still Klance Trash in Here, klance, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-11-09 09:11:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11101425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/diamondfireforever/pseuds/diamondfireforever
Summary: Keith didn't like people that much.they caught you in nets, they tried to spear you, and they had a tendency to want to capture you and dissect you.--------"But I would never do that!" the brown-haired boy protested.Keith snorted, still glaring with all his might. "I don't know that." he frowned. "And I don't think you do either."





	1. Keith Doesn't Like Humans

Mermaids (and mermen) hated humans. It was simply a fact of life. For as long as either races could remember they had been somewhat at war with each other.

Not full out war, of course, but if a human came across a mer then they would probably attempt to either kill it or catch it. Understandably, mers tended to drown any humans they came across. And above all, mers HATED nets. They dug into your skin and your scales and they trapped you; There really wasn't much good about them. In fact, if you happened to get caught in one you were basically dead.

Which, unfortunately, was exactly the situation that Keith found himself in.

He didn't dare shout for help; He was too near the shore for that. Not that it mattered much anyway; Mers tended to look out for themselves first. Nets usually meant that there were humans nearby, so the most that another mer would do was swim for their life.

The ropes got tighter with every movement he made. They were so tight on his flesh that he bit back tears as he desperately tried to break free. The sun was setting and he felt like he'd been like that for hours. Maybe he had. He knew eventually he'd die from lack of water -or a human would come and kill him. Keith wasn't really sure which was worse; All he wanted was for the pain to stop.

"Woah." He heard a voice gasp.

Keith turned, crying out from pain in the process, to see who had spoken. A brown-haired human stood on the rocks a few feet away, staring at him intently. Keith whimpered in pain and fear, but he knew he was helpless. The boy looked about his age. It was weird to think that in a matter of seconds he might be killed by him. Somehow, it was both terrifying and calming at the same time. He felt himself shift and realized he'd been closing his eyes. When he opened them he realized that the boy had taken out a knife and was cutting away at the net which had been holding him captive. He watched curiously as he was slowly but surely freed from the tight ropes. The two boys stared at each other for a time, Keith debating what to do now and the human boy trying not to be frightened by how the mer was staring at him.

Acting entirely on instinct, Keith knew he couldn't let the human go. It was against everything he knew and believed in. He gave a weak, half-snarl and dove into the human, throwing them both into the water below.

He was home. It felt Glorious. He threw his head back and took the deepest breath he could manage, grinning and flicking his tail to get the beautiful feeling of water back in him. It was so exhilarating he could've shouted, but a worried tug on his arm brought him back to reality. The brown-haired human. He was desperately flailing his arms and legs, trying to swim to the surface, but he was caught in the seaweed that grew on the ocean floor. From the way he was trying to scream, Keith guessed he was running out of oxygen. Their eyes locked again and Keith knew he couldn't just leave him down there to drown. He'd saved his life, after all.

In one quick motion, he used the sharp fin on his tail to cut through the seaweed and wrap his arms around the boy before shooting them both up to the surface. The human boy gasped for air and Keith simply stared at him warily through wet locks of his hair. After several seconds, their eyes locked once again.

"What the hell?!? you could've killed me!" The human shouted, obviously upset.

Keith shrugged. "I thought that's what you were going to do to me."

"But I would never do that!" The brown-haired boy protested.

Keith snorted, not really sure if he could believe him. "I don't know that." He frowned. "And I don't think you do either."

The boy's mouth gaped. "What's that supposed to mean? I was trying to help you!" He splashed about in the seawater angrily. "At least you could say thank you, I mean, I did save your life and all."

Keith glared at him. "I could sill drown you, ya know." He snapped.

"Then why don't you? no- why didn't you?"

The question caught Keith completely by surprise. Why didn't he just drown him? He was actually considering down it now- whoever this human was he was annoying as hell -yet, he knew he wasn't going to. Something about Keith just wouldn't let him take the boy's life.

"Because I'm not entirely heartless, although I'm regretting that fact now." He grumbled, pushing away so that he could swim off into the ocean.

The boy grabbed his arm. "Wait!" He cried. "I never caught your name!"

He looked down at his arm then up at the hopeful eyes of the human boy. "Keith." He grunted, pulling away and swimming off as fast as he could manage.

"Mine's Lance!" He heard the human yell. He never gave any signs that he'd heard him, but he had a feeling that 'Lance' knew regardless.


	2. Wait, Keith Might Not Hate This Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance finds himself wishing he knew more about the mer he'd met
> 
> Keith pretends he doesn't care about what happened to the human after he swam off

Lance dipped his toes into the edge of the pool. He was sitting on the end of the diving board thinking about Keith. How his ebony hair moved in the water. The way his eyes darted here and there, never lingering on one thing for too long. Lance shivered when he thought of how harsh he'd been, dragging him down into the cold, consuming water.  
And then how safe he felt in his arms, shooting back up to the surface. Water droplets spilling off of his pale skin.

Lance shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He couldn't possibly think about him like that-

could he?

How beautiful he looked when they were below the water. How you could tell just from a glance that he belonged there. That that was his home. How fluid his movements were, almost as if he was made of water himself.

Shit.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

There was nothing in the world that could make Keith care about a human. Nope. Nothing. EVER. Even if he looked kinda lonely while he was walking up the beach until he saw him trapped in a net. Not if he had been really nice, even though Keith had tried to drown him and he had every right to be mad, but he really wasn't that much which was nice and itsortamadeKeithwanttoseehimag-Nope.

He would absolutely never ever under any circumstances care about the well-being of a human being. He'd saved Lance, sure, but that was because Lance had saved his life first. It was only fair, after all. He couldn't just let him drown. Although, it seemed rather stupid that he was walking around the beach and he couldn't even swim. He should really find some lessons somewhere. Maybe he was only there to visit? Keith kinda hoped he lived on the beach. Then maybe he'd have a chance of-Wait,

no, why would Keith want to see him again? He hated humans. He hated their stupid brown hair and their cute little dimples and the way that Lance had come out onto the rocks where he could easily fall into the water which was pretty deep there even though couldn't swim just because Keith was trapped and-

There was definitely something wrong with him. Maybe he should go to a doctor. But then he'd have to admit he'd been near the shore. Well, he wouldn't really have to, but... His stomach trembled. Maybe he was just hungry? Yeah, that was it. It made sense; he wasn't thinking straight and he felt like his stomach was tying itself into a knot.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

"And my stomach feels like it's got a stone in it." Keith sighed. He never really liked having to go talk to Coran about what was wrong with him, but he was still the best (and arguably only) doctor anywhere near him, so there he was.

"Hmm." Coran twisting his mustache for a minute while he thought. "You haven't eaten anything stone-like lately have you? Or anything you haven't eaten before?"

"Nope." Keith frowned and kicked his tail up. "The most unusual thing I've done lately is swim up to the cliffs. but only because it's the only place near enough to the shore I can see birds but not have to worry too much about having humans around." He shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant, but turning a little red at having to admit he'd been near the shore.

"Hmm." Coran said again. "I don't really know. I can't say that there's anything really wrong with you. you seem fit enough and all your vitals are perfectly fine. All I can do for you is say to make sure you're eating a well-balanced diet and, uh, maybe try going for a nice long swim? Sometimes stuff like this happens when you feel strongly about something or someone but you either don't know it yet or you don't want to admit it." Coran looked at Keith's blank expression for a moment then sighed. "Just- try to clear your head, alright? Maybe you'll figure it out."

"Um, yeah, okay." Keith shrugged and grabbed his things before swimming off. his face felt like it was burning. feeling strongly about someone? Yeah, that sounded familiar. Didn't want to admit it? Wouldn't even dream about it.

well... maybe he'd dream about it. just a little bit...

No! Keith reprimanded himself. He didn't feel anything about anyone. he'd gotten this far by himself and he was fine. It didn't matter what happened to Lance. If he was okay or not. They'd never see each other again anyway.

So why did he feel so sad about that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to do the thing about indigestion because THAT IS LITERALLY WHAT MY OLDER SISTER THOUGHT WHEN SHE MET HER HUSBAND AND IT WAS HILARIOUS BECAUSE WE ALL KNEW SHE LIKED HIM AND SHE WAS LIKE 'UM?? WHAT IS THIS? THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME MOM I THINK I NEED A DOCTOR' yeah, haha no, you r in love


	3. Oh, Shit This Human Is Pretty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fluff and all that great stuff

This was a stupid idea. There was absolutely no reason to do it anyway. What was he expecting? For Lance to be there? Keith sighed at his own stupidity. He'd gotten caught in a net once for swimming near the surface and now here he was doing it again. It was as if he couldn't seem to learn from his own mistakes until he made them a few times. except this one might very well get him killed.

Gods, he had to see that boy again.

Why? Why did he care so much? He'd never cared about anyone or anything like this before. Not a mer, not a piece of coral, nothing. Yet here he was, caring about -of ALL things- a human boy. What was wrong with him?

He was so lost in thought that he nearly crashed straight into a rock- the same rock he'd been caught on just a few days prior. He shivered when he thought of the hours he'd spent struggling to get free, how the ropes had sliced into his skin, how-

"Keith?!” A familiar voice cried.

“Lance?” He scowled and dipped his head out of the water. The brown-haired boy wore a crooked grin as he looked down at the mermaid. “Hey there.” He said.

“What are you doing here?” Keith demanded, bowing his head a little when he felt a blush rise in his cheeks. Why was he so happy to see this boy? He was a human! Couldn't he do anything like he was supposed to?

Glancing up into those clear blue eyes, little dimples at the edges of his smile, Keith vowed to himself that he'd never do anything else in the world if it meant harming this boy.

Wait, what?

Legs swung down, dipping just barely into the water, making him shake off his confusion and focus for the time being. Lance was saying something. What was he talking about?

“-because I think I might really like you.” Shit, what? Why couldn't he ever pay attention when people talked to him? It really wasn't his fault, though, Lance was just too pretty to focus on anything else.

“You think I'm pretty?” Lance chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck in a desperate attempt to hide his flushed cheeks.

Keith froze and fell back into the water. After a few seconds he came back up coughing and gasping, using the rock Lance was perched on to steady himself, he waited a moment to catch his breath before sputtering out “Holy gods, did I say that out loud?”

Lance laughed again and poked him. “Yep. You said 'you're just too pretty to focus on anything else'.” That lopsided grin crept back onto his lips. “You said I'm pretty!” He taunted, helping a growling and glaring Keith up onto the rock so that they could sit next to each other.

“I didn't mean to!”

Lance's face fell in an instant. “Oh...”

“Wait, no! That's not what I meant to- Lance, I'm sorry, I just...” Keith sighed. “It just kinda slipped out, I wasn't really paying attention- No, I mean-” Lance cut him off. “It's fine.”

One look at the human's face said otherwise. “Please, Lance, just let me-” A sob broke from the other boy's lips. Keith didn't know what to do. Should he say something? How did you comfort a human? He couldn't just let him sit there and cry, he had to do something!

“I thought you might've liked me too.” Lance whispered through his tears. “I- I'm so sorry, I don't know why I thought that, it was stupid. Stupid.” He started muttering the word over and over again. “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid...”

Keith wrapped his arms around Lance's shoulders and nuzzled his neck. “I don't think you're stupid, I think you're pretty.”

“You- you-” Lance sniffled, unable to finish his thought. It didn't matter anyway, Keith was wrapping his arms closer around him, pulling them closer together, murmuring words Lance couldn't quite hear as he pressed kisses against his neck.

“Just because I didn't mean to say it doesn't mean I didn't mean every word.” he whispered, his breath against Lance's ear making the human boy shiver. He didn't quite know what to expect. Everything seemed to blend together, making it hard to think. All Lance knew was that he was warm, he was safe, and he was... he was happy. Ecstatic, even. He never wanted this moment to end. Those arms around him, protecting him like that, he wanted to stay there forever.

“Love- love you.” He murmured, turning enough so that he could drape his arms around the merman. “I love you.”

Keith chuckled. “I wish.” But Lance had already fallen asleep, and didn't hear him. He smiled and, after several moments, pressed another gentle kiss to Lance's cheek. “I think-” His voice cracked a little bit, “I think I like you, too, Lance.”


	4. Keith, No

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

'I promise to you my love  
for all of my life.  
My heart and my faithfulness  
to you and you only.  
Forever is not an empty word  
it is a promise I swear to keep  
I will be yours  
even if you are not mine  
because my love for you is like a life I can never have  
but with you I could imagine nothing better'

The words stared back at him, carved into the face of the rock he was still laying on, the human boy resting in his lap. He didn't know why he'd written it, the words just seemed to come to him like magic. Daydreams of him whispering those words to Lance flashed through his mind. What he wouldn't give to be with this boy forever.

Wait, where did THAT thought come from? He didn't really love him... did he?

Fuck, why did this have to be so difficult? Couldn't Lance have been born a mer or he a human? Did they have to be so different? Why did they have to be the ones stuck in a relationship doomed to fail?

Why did he get the love he could never have?

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Lance never wanted to leave the merman's arms. It was ecstasy in a single moment and he never wanted to let go.

"I love you." he mumbled. "I love you. I love you. I love you." If he said it enough maybe Keith'd say it back. It was hopeless, but-

"Don't say that." Keith sighed, running his fingers through Lance's short brown hair. he looked so sad it broke the poor boy's heart. he just couldn't bear to see Keith sad like that.

"I mean it!" Lance insisted. "I'm in love with you!"

"That's just the problem, I think I'm in love with you too," He whispered, tears beginning to well in his eyes. "Gods, Lance, i just don't know what to do! I wasn't supposed to fall in love with you. This shouldn't have happened!"

Lance leaned up to kiss Keith's cheek. "But it did. It happened and the best we can do is follow it to see where it goes."

"No! Don't you get it? The best thing I can do for you right now is leave and never come back. You'll forget me soon enough, don't worry." He turned away as tears streamed down Lance's cheeks. He hated to hurt him like that, but Lance would never be safe as long as they stayed together.

"You- you said you loved me!" Lance screamed. "I don't care if this wasn't supposed to happen, I'm not just going to let you leave me like this! Please, Keith," He sobbed uncontrollably. "Please don't I mean anything to you?"

Keith looked into his teary blue eyes and felt cracks form in his resolve to keep Lance safe. He had to get out of there. he took a deep breath. Now or never. "You do, Lance. More than you'll ever know, you do." He looked at the boy one last time before diving into the ocean and swimming as fast as he could.

Lance watched him leave until his eyes were too blurred with tears to see the ocean any longer. he leaned back on the rock, considering throwing himself off of it just to see if Keith would come back to save him. He wouldn't; he was much too far gone now to see that he was in trouble. Maybe it would be better that way. Maybe the world was better off if nobody saved him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> suggestions for the next work in this series anyone?


End file.
